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Chrome football helmet decals

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
We have a customer looking to order enough orange chrome football helmet decals to do sixty helmets, so this could potentially be a nice job for us and I'd like to put my best foot forward going into this, but chrome helmet decals are something we've never done.

We stock Convex chrome, which is seriously high dollar and high tack, and when I shot a ballpark price of $50-55 per helmet (the decals will be reasonably large), the customer didn't even balk at it and said this is about the price they were expecting.

So I have a few questions and I need opinions as far as what you all would do.

First off, do I need a high tack adhesive for football helmets? In other words, are they a low energy surface or will standard adhesives work just fine on them? We've always used Convex High Bond with Convex 12 mil ClearShield laminate in the past, so low surface energy wasn't an issue, regardless.

My first option would be to print the Convex Chrome orange with our eco-solvent printer and laminate with Convex 12 mil Pro Shield laminate. The material is made for the Gerber thermal printing systems, but I know that at VERY low speeds, eco-solvent will print just fine, although it's not recommended by the manufacturer and it would take a hell of a long time. This is the option I'd prefer to steer clear of for obvious reasons.

My second option would be to use something like Avery chrome wrap film and Avery SF100 orange laminate, along with the Convex 12 mil ClearShield laminate or possibly an extra thick cast laminate by Avery, if they make one, as I would prefer to use materials that I know are compatible. This might be an easier and more economical option if high tack is not required.

My third option would be to use the Avery SF100 orange laminate and 12 mil ProShield laminate or similar Avery laminate over the Convex chrome if high tack is required.

Any thoughts? Have any of you done chrome football helmet decals, and what did you use? Did it hold up well for at least a few seasons or were there any issues?

Thanks in advance for any tips, tricks, etc.
 
U

unclebun

Active Member
Convex chrome says it won't work on curved surfaces like helmets. Probably because it's a metallized polyester, just like chrome sign "vinyl". Football helmets are typically made of plastics like polycarbonate, so, strictly speaking, they don't need LSE adhesives. I suspect Convex uses LSE adhesives because of the abuse helmets receive, and how the edges of the thick decal would be prone to getting pushed up from helmet collisions.

I'd ask for a helmet to try it out, and try just the convex chrome to see if it will take the curve first. If it can, laminate it with the orange laminate and the ProShield and cut out your decals.
 
Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
unclebun said:
Convex chrome says it won't work on curved surfaces like helmets. Probably because it's a metallized polyester, just like chrome sign "vinyl". Football helmets are typically made of plastics like polycarbonate, so, strictly speaking, they don't need LSE adhesives. I suspect Convex uses LSE adhesives because of the abuse helmets receive, and how the edges of the thick decal would be prone to getting pushed up from helmet collisions.

I'd ask for a helmet to try it out, and try just the convex chrome to see if it will take the curve first. If it can, laminate it with the orange laminate and the ProShield and cut out your decals.
Click to expand...
It actually isn't metallized polyester and it's durable for 7 years outdoors, so it's something new-ish and very unique to the market. They actually want to buy one pair first to try them and make sure it will work, which I'm okay with in this situation. Also, thanks for the info about conformability. I know it conforms to mild complex contours because it's widely used for motocross applications but very pronounced curves may be a different story, as you stated. I'm also guessing this stuff won't respond well to heat.
 
Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?

New Member
Alright, so as it turns out, I got ahold of my Convex representative and we discussed my needs. I was told that the chrome is not recommended for helmets as it likely will not conform well enough and also will leave difficult to remove residue behind. I was told that Convex Gear Wrap is the appropriate media with the ProShield laminate and that chrome helmet decals are actually printed with Gerber metallic foils, they are not actual chrome. I guess you learn something new every day.
 
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